Instigators of change

Our Team

We’re serial entrepreneurs, with a passion for robotics technology.

Motus Labs

Motus Labs, LLC. – Designs, manufactures and markets robot joint actuators and drives. Motus technology is truly disruptive, having been conceived and under development over a period of years by the founder, Carlos Hoefken, veteran automation, and robotics engineer. The Motus M-DRIVE has received very positive initial reactions from both Service and Industrial robot manufacturers – that resulted in winning several new designs.

We believe the M-DRIVE will become essential for the proliferation of the emerging Service Robot Market. Key M-DRIVE metrics such as reduced weight and costs will dramatically reduce the ROI of a robot and provide the ability to open new applications.

Company

We believe Motus Labs is the company that will dramatically change robotic technology applications using an innovative new drive design. We are an A-Team ready to make a difference, take a look at our video bios.

Joe Pollard

CEO / Co-Founder

Joe is a highly experienced technology executive with over 30 years of technology management and technical sales in the areas of computer hardware, telecom, communications and IT.

Joe Pollard

Joe is a highly experienced technology executive with over 30 years of technology management and technical sales in the areas of computer hardware, telecom, communications and IT. Over his career, Joe has been involved in technology startup companies with a focus on business development in the Americas, EMEA, and the Asia Pacific. Through 2017, Joe was CEO and Founder of Vedero Software (Acquired by Murata Electronics) where he was responsible for strategy, operations, sales, marketing, support and was also a member of the Board of Directors.

Additional experience includes CEO of Permeo Technologies (acquired by Blue Coat), EVP of Worldwide Sales for MetaSolv Software (acquired by Oracle), VP of WW Sales for Ignite Technologies, Director of International Sales for Tivoli Systems (acquired by IBM), Director of International Sales for Visual Information Technologies. Joe has a degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Memphis.

Carlos Hoefken

CTO / Co-Founder

Carlos has spent the past 20 years involved in design and development of factory automation custom machinery including motion control, vision systems, and robotic devices.

Carlos Hoefken

Carlos has spent the past 20 years involved in design and development of factory automation custom machinery including motion control, vision systems, and robotic devices. Carlos’ exposure to robotics began at an early age when he won 1st place in a physics contest with an invention of a balsa wood robotic arm. Since 2006, Carlos has been President of MacroLever, Inc., a company focused on the design and manufacture of factory automation and custom machinery.

Carlos developed his breakthrough gear drive technology over the past 5 years in parallel with running his full-time business. Prior to MacroLever, Carlos also served in a variety of mechanical engineering and management positions including Associated Air Center, which served major aircraft manufactures such as Boeing and Airbus. Carlos studied Industrial Engineering at Universidad de Lima Peru, graduated first in his class with a Plant Machinery Degree from the Instituto Superior Tecnológico Tecsup Lima, and holds an MBA with an Engineering Technology concentration from the University of Dallas.

Jim Fontaine

Executive Chairman / Co-Founder

Jim has been instrumental in funding and assembling a world-class team around Carlos Hoefken, Motus’ founder. Jim has over thirty years of successfully launching and building technology companies from inception through IPO and sale.

Jim Fontaine

Jim has been instrumental in funding and assembling a world-class team around Carlos Hoefken, Motus’ founder. Jim has over thirty years of successfully launching and building technology companies from inception through IPO and sale. He is a serial entrepreneur and was previously CEO and President of Microtune, a NASDAQ company. Microtune was the inventor of the single-chip TV tuner and under Jim’s leadership, it grew to become the world’s leading supplier with over $110 million in revenue.

Microtune eventually became part of Qualcomm after a series of acquisitions. Prior to Microtune, Jim was General Manager of Cirrus Logic’s PC Graphics and Video Division, the market leader in the mid-1990s with over $400M in revenue. Jim founded and managed several other startups including Pixel Semiconductor and Visual Information Technologies. Since 2010, Jim has been an active Angel investor, advisor, and board member for a dozen companies. Jim is currently CEO at Tella Firma, a Construction-Tech company in the foundation space with the mission of revolutionizing the building industry. Jim currently serves on the Board of Ikonopedia, Inc., is involved with the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance and a guest lecturer at The University of Texas at Dallas. Jim has a BSEE from Marquette University and advanced studies from Southern Methodist University.

Gary Hofer

Chief Operating Officer

Gary brings over 30 years of operations experience from various manufacturing, technology-based, and innovative start-ups and growth phase companies. His range of expertise includes manufacturing operations, finance, HR, and IT. Gary will be responsible for all Motus Labs manufacturing operations, facility management and general business operations.

Gary Hofer

Gary brings over 30 years of operations experience from various manufacturing, technology-based, and innovative start-ups and growth phase companies. His range of expertise includes manufacturing operations, finance, HR, and IT. Gary will be responsible for all Motus Labs manufacturing operations, facility management and general business operations.

Most recently, Gary was the Director, Operations at RealPage, Inc., Richardson, TX, a global company offering property management software solutions. Prior to RealPage, Gary was CFO for Enterprise Risk Control, a vendor credentialing service company. In addition, he has a diverse background holding operational positions at MetaSolv Software, Biota Brands of America, Food Products Corporation and Wood Enterprises as well as holding the position of CFO at several high-tech companies. Gary holds a B.S. in Accounting from Arizona State University.

Greg Zancewicz

VP, Business Development / Co-Founder

Greg brings over 25 years of experience in all aspects of product development, business development, product marketing, and strategic planning in an array of technology industries.

Greg Zancewicz

Greg brings over 25 years of experience in all aspects of product development, business development, product marketing, and strategic planning in an array of technology industries. His last position was as Chief Technical Officer of FundMed, a healthcare crowdfunding and clinical decision service.

Previously Greg has served as VP of Marketing and Strategic Planning for Microtune (now part of Qualcomm), Principal Engineer for the ARRIS Group, VP of Technical Operations in Brazil for ANTEC (an AT&T joint venture, later acquired by ARRIS), Staff Member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and as a Research Engineer at Motorola’s Corporate R&D Center in Chicago (now part of Google). Greg also served as a U.S. Army Missile Systems Officer in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm, for which he received the Army Commendation Medal. He holds 3 patents in the area of signal processing and antenna design, with 6 pending, and is a member of the IEEE. He received an SB and SM from MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and an MBA (with honors) from Emory University.

Dr. Mark Spong

Technical Advisor / Founding Investor

Mark is currently a Professor and Past Dean of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas. His career has been focused on transforming robotics from fiction to fact. Mark’s work has been instrumental in establishing the theoretical foundations of robot control.

Dr. Mark Spong

Technical Advisor / Founding Investor

Mark is currently a Professor and Past Dean of Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Texas at Dallas. His career has been focused on transforming robotics from fiction to fact. Mark’s work has been instrumental in establishing the theoretical foundations of robot control. He has produced innovative solutions in robotics that have become now-classic results in robotic control.

His record of achievement earned him the 2011 Pioneer in Robotics and Automation Award from the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Robotics and Automation Society, that organization’s highest honor. Mark is past president of the IEEE Control Systems Society, a Fellow of the IEEE, and has served as editor in chief of the IEEE Transactions on Control System Technology. His other notable honors include the first IROS (Intelligent Robotics and Systems) Fumio Harashima Award for Innovative Technologies. Mark also directs the Laboratory for Autonomous Robotics and Systems (LARS) at UTD.

Mark began his academic career at Lehigh University and from 1982 to 1984 taught at Cornell University. Mark received his BA magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in mathematics and physics from Hiram College, his MS in mathematics from New Mexico State University, and an MS and Ph.D. in systems science and mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Jeffrey Smith

Technical Advisor / Founding Investor

Jeff is currently Adjunct Robotics Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington and CEO of QuantumIOT, an Internet-of-Things Systems Integrator. As a scientist for Motorola, The Robotics Institute, and the SuperCollider, he has worked on wireless sensor and control systems developed for the FBI, CIA, DOD, DOE, NASA, and USPS – from autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles to particle accelerators.

Dr. Jeffrey Smith

Technical Advisor / Founding Investor

Jeff is currently Adjunct Robotics Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington and CEO of QuantumIOT, an Internet-of-Things Systems Integrator. As a scientist for Motorola, The Robotics Institute, and the SuperCollider, he has worked on wireless sensor and control systems developed for the FBI, CIA, DOD, DOE, NASA, and USPS – from autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles to particle accelerators.

Until 2016, Jeff served as Chief Strategy and Technical Officer and on the Board of Numerex (NASDAQ:NMRX). In 1993, Jeff co-founded and served as President and CEO of OnRamp Technologies (acquired by Verio). During Jeff’s tenure at Verio, the company grew to be one of the largest web-hosting companies in the world. Verio was acquired by NTT for $5.5B. Jeff has also had executive leadership positions, board membership, or co-founded technology companies including MSensorLogic, Winning Habits, VIA, Vericenter, and Vaultnet. Jeff is a distinguished Alumni at UTA and serves on the Development Board at UTA and Advisory Board at the UTA College of Engineering. He is a member of IEEE, Tau Beta Pi, Upsilon Pi Epsilon, EO, and YPO. Jeff has a BS in Engineering from Trinity University, and an MS and PhD in Computer Engineering from The University of Texas at Arlington.

Barry Koch

European Representative

Barry has 25 years of electronics and automotive engineering and executive management experience in US, EMEA, and Asia Pacific.

Barry Koch

European Representative

Barry has 25 years of electronics and automotive engineering and executive management experience in US, EMEA, and Asia Pacific. Past experiences include Executive Vice President of Microtune Inc. and General Manager of Microtune Germany, BU VP Automotive at Microtune, BU VP at Zoran, member of management buyout of TTHFT from Temic (aquired by Microtune), management involvement in multiple M&As. MSEE Purdue University, BSEE University of Missouri Rolla.

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.